Housing Affordability Rises to Highest Level in Four Years
November 18th, 2008
With home prices decreasing and interest rates holding at historically low levels, the number of potential home buyers nationwide who can afford to buy new and existing homes has reached the highest level in more than four years, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Opportunity Index (HOI).
According to the latest HOI readings, 56.1% of all new and existing homes that were sold during the third quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $61,500, far higher than the 40.4% of families who could afford homes at the peak of the housing boom.
“If there is a silver lining to this crisis, it would be that some housing markets have become more affordable with a larger inventory to choose from,” said NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn. “But this is undeniably a crisis and Congress needs to act on a housing stimulus to get the market moving again.”